Senior Day - Don't Boo

While walking back to the car from the Michigan/Purdue game, I heard an unfortunately conversation between two Michigan fans. Long story short - they were talking about how they planned to boo Ezeh.

Now, I know that Ezeh has been the subject of many, if not all, our consternation, but seriously - DO NOT BOO ANYONE. I can't believe that I even have to bring this up to those who actually might think about booing. First off, that's going to look horrible to the recruits that will be there and second, Michigan football is family. That's not meant to be cliche - it's the truth. I love Michigan and I will root for the uniform until I die, so therefore, I will root for anyone that wears that uniform, no matter how much he may be lacking in LB instincts. Ezeh has been the butt of many jokes and drawn a ton of ire, but he is still a Michigan Wolverine and for that, I will thank him for his services with thunderous applause.

I hope those two fans saw the way Obi played his heart out against Purdue and realized this kid has the mind and courage of a true Michigan Wolverine. Reguardless of what he's done in his whole career at Michigan, good or bad, he served our program with relentless effort and that gets all of my respect as a die-hard Wolverine fan.

Exactly. Booing a player for poor sportsmanship or a bad off the field incedent is sometimes justified. Booing your own team for performance is never justified. It never does any good; they know when they're playing bad and fans need to try to encourage them to play harder, not bring them down.

but hey, I gotta be honest here. What Corey Tropp and Andrew Conboy did was horrible, no doubt about it. Rick Comley did the right thing and kicked them both off the team.

Corey Tropp wanted to come back, and Comley set some very high goals that Tropp had to meet before he would be allowed back. Tropp worked hard and did everything the coach asked of him and more. Tropp was truly ashamed of what he had done. He did earn his way back onto the team and played hard. I was amazed at his turnaround. (I also read somewhere that he personally called Steve Kampfer and apologized, but I can't find that article.)

It's about effort. He has tried his best, and often has been the best we've had to trot out there. And against Purdue, he even made some nice plays. I even saw him make a tackle within two yards of the LOS!

His last game is classless. Sure Ezeh didn't play well but he still tries his best, practices hard and has put in a tremendous amount of work wearing the Maize and Blue. I'll be in the stands to cheer all the seniors.

I'm leaning toward castration. Or at least having their season tickets revoked. Booing anyone who is giving their all for the maize and blue is behavior that belongs in EL or Columbus, but it definitely doesn't belong in the Big House.

I can't understand why anyone would pay good money to go and boo the home team. At the very least, they could donate their tickets to veterans or indigent children.

I would never boo Michigan, period. I don't boo my teams, my school. It reflects poorly and is a slap to the face of the team. The countless hours of practice, dedication to the university by Obi far exceeds anything I've ever done for it.

Any player that puts in the time, effort, and commitment it takes to play division 1 athletics for 4 years deserves their moment. Booing a player on senior day is not only classless, but shows a complete lack of respect for everything that the University of Michigan represents.

It's just beyond me how any adult can see fit to boo 18 year old kids who are busting their asses to represent our school. You really have to be a miserable person to think it's ok to boo a bunch of kids.

It's also sad that there actually is a need for the OP's message (though probably for the majority of this blog's readership).

game, Ezeh got the loudest cheers. He seemed really surprised and appreciative. Say what you will about his play, but the guy has stuck with the program through some tough times and has worked very hard.

While I'll admit, I have been on Ezeh's back for a while, booing him or anyone else in this senior class is disgraceful and classless. Never where maize and blue again if you even think of booing any of the seniors on saturday.

btw - did anyone notice the obi ezeh drive on saturday? i was at the game and it happened in the 3Q. obi made the tackle on the first two runs. then he batted away the third down pass. then purdue punted.

i was really happy for the guy when the D left the field after that third down.

It's a shame that this even needs to be said, but there is absolutely no justification for booing these seniors on Saturday.

These seniors have been through a lot more than most classes of Michigan seniors. They went through a coaching change and the two worst seasons of the last four decades. Through that adversity, they stuck around while many of their classmates decided to leave. Like all the senior classes before them, they represented our university well for four or five years, and they deserve our respect.

I know that I'm going to get in the face of anybody that I hear booing during the Senior Day introductions and I'd encourage everyone else to do the same.

As frustrating as the past few years have been for the fans, you know it has been way harder on the players, who put it all on the field every Saturday, and going through four or five years of sacrificing your body every Saturday for the school, fans, alumns, etc is only worthy of cheers from everyone at the stadium, hell, if Broekhoisen or however you spell the kicker's name were a senior I'd cheer him too, I know they are all doing their best.

Honestly, only mgoblog readers and/or very intelligient football viewers are smart enough to know that Ezeh is not a very effective MLB. To the average fan, he is a 5th year senior and 4 year starter who is a true Michigan Man. Maybe that;s for the best. But I will give him a standing O along with everyone else.